Welcome to the ebulletin
Welcome to the December edition of the e-bulletin. This
month’s spotlight is Alcohol Awareness with a particular
focus on Dry January. Included in this edition is Andrew
Misell, Director of Alcohol Concern Cymru explaining
the campaign in more detail, information about a new
pamphlet to help the public to understand new low
risk drinking guidelines and details of the new Adverse
Childhood
Experience
(ACE’s)
report
recently published.
Public Health Network Cymru in partnership with the Welsh
Government recently held a Planning for Better Health and
Wellbeing Seminar. The event attracted speakers from
Oxford Brookes University, Waterford Institute of
Technology, the Town and Country Planning Association
and more locally City of Cardiff Council and Public Health
Wales. The presentations and a short video from the day
are available to view on our website.
We have a number of further events coming up in
2017 including our #TechniHealth seminar, the annual
research seminar and a conference themed around ACE’s.
Further details of these will be coming out soon.
Finally we would like to thank all our members for their
support and contribution over the last year and wish you
all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

@PHNetworkcymru

/publichealthnetworkcymru

www.publichealthnetwork.cymru

Rethink

your Drink
Spotlight
on
Alcohol
The December e-bulletin focuses on
alcohol awareness in readiness for Dry
January. Dry January is Alcohol Concernâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s
flagship campaign and the Director of
Alcohol Concern Cymru tells us more
about how it started and how successful it
has become over the last few years

The year-round benefits of a Dry
January
Alcohol Concern Cymru Director, Andrew Misell, looks at the growth of Dry January as a
behaviour change campaign, and encourages public health practitioners to get on board
Sometime in 2012, a group of us were sitting in a small room in Alcohol Concern’s less-thanglamorous London HQ, wondering whether anyone would seriously want to give up drinking for
a month. We got a website ready to go for January 2013, but decided not to display the sign-up
counter until it reached at least 100. We needn’t have worried.
Four years on, having a “Dry January” has become a normal part of conversations about drinking.
In 2016, one in six people in Britain attempted to take the month off booze. Globally, the hashtag
#DryJanuary had 180 million impressions on Twitter. Even those who didn’t like the campaign much
couldn’t ignore it. The licensed trade’s online daily, the Morning Advertiser, launched its own Try
January counter-campaign to get more people into the pubs.
The drinks business also had some more serious counter arguments, such as that put forward by
the Federation of Licensed Victuallers, that “responsible drinking right through the year” was “the
way people should treat alcohol”. Some suggested that people would be queuing up at the bar
on 1 February after 31 thirsty days. Ian Hamilton of York University warned that “Dry January risks
sending out a binary, all or nothing, message about alcohol”. Again, we needn’t have worried. The
research indicates that a month of abstinence gives many people a chance to reconsider and reset
their drinking habits. Six months after taking the challenge, two-thirds of Dry January participants
say they are still drinking less.
These long-term benefits were what we’d really hoped to see, but the short-term impacts have
been quite striking too. Back in 2013, writers at New Scientist put Dry January to test on themselves.
They found that they reduced their liver fat, blood cholesterol and blood glucose, and that “the
changes were dramatic and consistent across all the abstainers”. Further research by University College
London in 2015 also found that people taking January off the drink lowered their risk of liver disease
and diabetes. Other benefits reported by participants have included better sleep and reduced BMI.
Overall, what started as an experiment in 2013 has proven to be an effective behaviour change
campaign, and one that’s won its place in the public imagination.
To sign up and take part, go to www.alcoholconcern.org.uk/dry-january
The 2017 Dry January poster can be downloaded in English and Welsh at
www.drinkwisewales.org.uk/downloads, plus professionally printed bilingual Dry January posters,
wristbands and t-shirts are available free of charge from Alcohol Concern Cymru whilst stocks last.
Contact acwales@alcoholconcern.org.uk or 029 20226746.
Join the conversation on Twitter @Dry January and @IonawrSych, and on Facebook at
www.facebook.com/DryJanuary/
Please remember that Dry January is not a medical detox programme, and should not be
recommended to anyone who has an alcohol dependency problem.

Alcohol is a major cause of death and
illness in Wales
By Carol Waldron, Public Health Practitioner, Public Health Wales

Alcohol is a major cause of death and illness in Wales with around 1,500 deaths attributable to
alcohol each year (1 in 20 of all deaths) and every week our hospitals handle as many as 1,000
admissions related to alcohol. A survey recently showed that 4 in 10 adults in Wales reported
drinking above the guidelines on at least one day in the week.
As we approach the New Year and a time when many people think about their alcohol consumption,
it is useful to reflect on the revised UK guidelines which were issued by the Chief Medical Officers in
January 2016.
The revision updates the previous guidance which was issued in 1995, and follows a review of the
latest scientific evidence. The advice is based on the precept that people have a right to accurate
information and that they should have clear advice about alcohol and its health risks and what they
can do to keep the risks low. The guidance is based on the risk of mortality and includes estimates
of harms through injury as well as through acute and chronic disease.
The important new evidence is that we now know that there is no ‘safe limit’ for drinking alcohol and
any amount of regular drinking can cause harm. The risk of developing a range of illnesses (including
cancers of the mouth, throat and breast) increases with any amount you drink on a regular basis. In
addition drinking heavily on a single occasion increases someone’s health risks.
The guidelines are designed to help people make choices about how much risk they are willing to
take. The guidance is based on average risks and there may be reasons why drinking might be more
risky for someone; this may include age, size, other health problems or medication.

Thinking
about your
Drinking

Having a few drinks most evenings
or drinking a bit too much every
weekend causes damage to your
body that builds up over time.
Guidance from the UK
Chief Medical Officers

There is no safe limit...

Thinking about a change?

but if you want to keep your health risks low:

Having several ‘drink free’ days is a good way to
cut down. Here are some tips that other people have
found helpful...

• Drink less than 14 units a week
• Spread your drinking out over three or more days.

...and your health

Check how much you
are really drinking
– it soon adds up.

If you are pregnant, or there is a chance you
could be, it is safest not to drink at all.
NEW RESEARCH means that we know more about
the link between alcohol and some diseases. Drinking
increases the risk of a range of illnesses, including
breast and bowel cancer. We also know now that
drinking has no health benefits for most people.

The review has led to a single guideline for men and women who drink regularly or frequently- that
is most weeks and states that you can keep your health risk low by:

Drinking less than 14 units a week
If you drink as much as 14 units a week, it is best to spread it out over three or more days
If you wish to cut down the amount you are drinking a good way to achieve this is to have
several drink free days each week.
Alcohol can be described by the number of units in a drink and while there is always a range
14 units could equate to ten (35ml) single measures of a spirit, six pints (568ml of 4%) beer,
or a bottle and a half (75cl bottle) of wine.

People could lower their risk of alcohol-related harm by following these â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;top tipsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;:
Go low - Choose lower alcohol drinks, or have more soft drinks
Go slow - Drink more slowly, or with food
Go small - Choose smaller glasses, bottles rather than pints, and avoid multi-buy offers
The review also considered the risks of alcohol during pregnancy and concluded that risks of low
birth weight, preterm birth, and being small for gestational age all may increase in mothers drinking
above 1-2 units/day during pregnancy. And so the advice is that if you are pregnant or planning
a pregnancy, the safest approach is not to drink alcohol at all. Public Health Wales published a
pamphlet to coincide with Alcohol Awareness Week which helps the public to understand new low
risk drinking guidelines, and provides handy hints on cutting down.
There is more advice and support available on these websites:
Drink Wise Wales
http://www.drinkwisewales.org.uk/ http://www.yfeddoethcymru.org.uk/
Change 4 Life
http://change4lifewales.org.uk/adults/alcohol/?lang=en
http://change4lifewales.org.uk/adults/alcohol/?skip=1&lang=cy

Alcohol’s Harms To Others
More than half of adults in Wales (60%) have suffered some form of harm or negative experience
in the last year as a result of someone else being under the influence of alcohol, a new report has
found.
The Alcohol’s Harms to Others report found that in Wales last year, almost one in five adults (18%)
had felt physically threatened by someone who had been drinking, one in ten (11%) had their
property damaged by a drinker, and 5% had suffered physical violence at the hands of someone
under the influence of alcohol.
One in twenty (5%) people reported being concerned about a child’s wellbeing because of someone
else’s drinking.
The report, co-produced by Public Health Wales and Liverpool John Moores University, is the first
study into the broad range of harms caused to adults in Wales as a consequence of someone else’s
drinking.
Professor Mark Bellis, Director of Policy, Research, and International Development at Public Health
Wales, said: “People are increasingly aware of personal risks from cancers and other diseases
associated with drinking alcohol.”
“However, this report shows how alcohol can harm not just the drinker but also those around them.”
“Some of these harms are due to drunken violence but others result from accidents, threats or even
financial problems when too much household income goes on one person’s drinking.”
“For those who drink alcohol, staying within the Chief Medical Officers’ guidelines on safer drinking
is a good way to reduce risks to your own health and, the health of your family and friends”
According to the report, a considerable proportion of harms to others are caused by drinkers who
are known to the victim, these can be friends (in 20% of cases), partners (19% of cases) or family
members (20% of cases).
The risk of experiencing any harm or negative experience in the past 12 months was highest in
younger age groups, with 70% of 18-30 year olds and 75% of 35-44 year olds reporting harms or
other negative effects from others’ drinking.
Andrew Misell, Director of Alcohol Concern Cymru, said: “Even those of us who don’t drink, or who
drink very little, will feel the effects of other people’s drinking from time to time, from low-level
disruptive behaviour to full-on aggression and violence.”
“When we’ve asked people in Wales nearly half say that their town centre is a no-go area after dark
due to alcohol-related trouble.”
“Drinking is a feature of most people’s social lives, and the big drinks companies are keen to find
more and more reasons for us to drink, but it has to be time to ask whether we want alcohol to play
such a prominent part in so many areas of life.”

Other notable harms suffered by adults in Wales as a consequence of someone else’s drinking in the
last 12 months include: having to contact the police (11%), feeling anxious (29%), having a serious
argument (20%), feeling let down (19%) and personally drinking to cope (6%).
Dr Zara Quigg, Reader in Behavioural Epidemiology at the Public Health Institute, Liverpool John
Moores University, added: “Identifying the broad impact that alcohol use can have on individuals,
those around them and wider society is important to informing the development, implementation
and targeting of interventions to reduce and prevent alcohol-related harms.”
“The prevalence of alcohol’s harms to others identified in this report should act as a catalyst for
policymakers, practitioners and the public, to start working towards addressing the wide ranging
effects of alcohol use, and ultimately improve the public’s health.”
The Alcohol’s Harms to Others report collected data from a survey of 1,071 adults aged 18+ in Wales.

Keep Safe over the Festive Season
D Drinking alcohol can make you twice as likely to
take RISKS! This can result in RISKS you might
regret……….
D KNOW your limits along with the consequences of
what can happen if things go wrong……..
D Being drunk also makes you vulnerable to SEXUAL
ASSAULT. This can happen to anyone, whether
they’re male, female, gay, straight or bisexual.
D It’s important to gain CONSENT from sexual
partners particularly when alcohol is involved.

REMEMBER:

D ‘The LAW says ….. ‘A person consents if they agree
by choice and have the freedom and capacity to
make that choice.’ GET CONSENT EVERY TIME!

DRUGS AND
ALCOHOL CAN STOP D Don’t forget to WRAP UP and use condoms this party
season….
YOU THINKING
D Condoms help prevent STI’S (sexually transmitted
CLEARLY, WHICH
infections) such as Chlamydia, Gonorrhoea, Herpes or
MEANS YOU MAY
HIV. ONLY when used correctly!
FORGET ABOUT
SAFER SEX!
01352 703 490 - ypdat@flintshire.gov

www.cccymru.co.uk

On The Spot
This month’s On the Spot is with Sue Wing who is a Principal
Public Health Practitioner with Public Health Wales and has recently
become a member of Public Health Network Cymru Advisory Group. Sue’s
work currently focuses on preventing alcohol and substance misuse across
Wales.

What is your area of expertise?

My area of expertise is health promotion. My specialist knowledge and skills relate to the
approaches we can use to improve health and reduce health inequalities. During my career my
work has focussed on key health issues such as preventing injuries and increasing physical activity
and also on improving health in settings such as the community and workplace. My work currently
focuses on preventing alcohol and substance misuse across Wales.

Why did you join the PHNC Advisory Group?

I joined because we need to work together if we want to make a difference to the health of people
in Wales and Public Health Network Cymru is a great way to share knowledge and learning.

What do you perceive the challenges will be for the Advisory Group?

The greatest challenges for the Advisory Group are improving reach within both the wider public
and the various agencies that can influence wellbeing. This includes not only staff working in a range
of statutory and non-statutory services but employers, the media, faith communities and other
community groups. A well informed public and service system committed to enhancing wellbeing is
essential but remains a challenge to achieve.

This month’s e-bulletin spotlights alcohol awareness, what do you think are
the main challenges facing us in addressing alcohol related harm in Wales?
The UK alcohol industry spends more than £800 million selling alcohol to us as an enjoyable and
integral part of our culture and social life. This makes it more difficult to convey the sobering truth
about the harm that alcohol does to drinkers, those around them and society as a whole.

Six out of ten adults in Wales say they have experienced harm because of someone else’s drinking
in the last 12 months and one in every 20 deaths in Wales is related to alcohol. These are not just
injuries caused by binge drinking, most are the result of long term drinking and its role in increasing
the risk of diseases such as cancer and heart disease. Many people are still unaware that regular
moderate drinking increases the risk of developing diseases such as cancer. Alcohol related harm is not
just caused by a minority of ‘problem drinkers’ and we need population wide measures to address it.

We know that alcohol brief interventions, a short targeted conversation with a health professional
can help people make an informed choice about their own drinking. The challenge is to embed it in
professional practice so that we are making the most of every opportunity to have that conversation.
We know that reducing the availability, cost and marketing of alcohol works to reduce harm and
protect children. The challenge is to engage public opinion and political support so that we can use
these measures to start to change the relationship that we have with alcohol in Wales.

What tips would you give our members to actively promote Dry January?

There is evidence that taking a break from drinking can have some immediate benefits and it is a
good opportunity to think about making more long term changes. Alcohol Concern has some great
campaign resources and tips on their Dry January website. This includes a workplace campaign pack
and an online calculator to help you work out exactly how much money and calories you will save.
My top tips would be to check out the website, take every opportunity to spread the word and
maybe even give it a try yourself.

If Santa could leave you anything under your Christmas tree what would it
be?

A time machine would be amazing. I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t want to travel to the future or back into history
(although now my kids have grown up Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d love to be able to go back and visit the time when they
were little) but it would be really helpful to be able to pause or rewind time occasionally so that I
could fit everything in!

The Grapevine
This section of the ebulletin is dedicated to news from the
network members. You can submit news on the work being
undertaken in your area, write us an article, showcase an
upcoming project or show off your achievements! If you
would like to submit an article for the Grapevine, please email
publichealth.network@wales.nhs.uk The article should be no longer
than 500 words and pictures are always welcome!

Draft Cardiff Cycling Strategy launched
Cardiffâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Cycling Strategy has been published in draft form and includes maps of each area of the
city detailing the proposals.

New Deep Place study on sustainable
place-making
The Pontypool Deep Place Study was undertaken on behalf of the Sustainable Places Research
Institute by Dr Mark Lang.
The study has sought to further develop the Deep Place approach to sustainable place-making
advocated in the Tredegar Study of 2014, which Mark undertook with Professor Dave Adamson.

Access to Wrexham’s Green Spaces
Keep Wales Tidy along with eight community groups and Wrexham County Borough Council are
putting together a Big Lottery Fund bid to develop Wrexham’s green spaces and parks for all in our
community.
Quite simply our ambitious and ground-breaking project, which we’ve called “Access to
Wrexham’s Green Spaces” aims to improve the ability of groups, individuals and communities to access
Wrexham’s green spaces more fully through improvements to the network of footpaths that
criss-cross our country parks. Our partnership aims to provide the opportunity for everyone to
experience and get to know Wrexham’s parks with all the benefits for improved health and
wellbeing that result from greater access to open, green spaces and fresh air – we want to make
Wrexham healthier!!
Moreover, our bid for funding will provide very real opportunities for all in the community to learn
new skills and training on the various projects such as for example better footpaths and improved
wildlife habitats.
With this in mind we would like to ask representatives from the health care / health and
wellbeing community for their ideas and thoughts on what improvement(s) they would like to see
within Wrexham’s parks and green spaces.
This can be an email or alternatively you can telephone to discuss
shane.hughes@keepwalestidy.org 07766 007635

News Round-Up
Welcome to the News-Round-Up. Click on the headings of the news item to take
you to the full news story on the Public Health Network Cymru Website.

Children and Young People
New rules ban the advertising of high fat, salt and sugar food and
drink products in childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s media
Following a full public consultation, new rules banning the advertising of high
fat, salt or sugar (HFSS) food or drink products in childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s media have been
announced.

Substance Misuse
A Report on Crystal Meth in a Sexual Context
Recent years have seen a rise in the use of crystal meth (Tina) and intravenous drug use (slamming)
in the European gay scene.

Health Professionals
Noncommunicable
Diseases
The consumption of nuts could help prevent the development of
certain conditions
A study published in BMC Medicine has found that people consuming at least 20 grams of nuts daily
are less likely to develop potentially fatal conditions such as heart disease and cancer.

Eating Disorders Summit: Rapid
Developing a Gold Standard Service
London

Early

Intervention

and

Policy priorities for sport in Scotland
Edinburgh

Young People and Substance Misuse: Why the Drugs Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t Work?
Cardiff
Resilient Communities and the Third Sector
Holiday Inn, Cardiff

Self Harming Behaviours: Improving Responses and Minimising
Harm
Conwy
Youth Homelessness: All I Want is a Roof Over My Head
Cardiff

Click Here for more events on the
Public Health Network Cymru website

Public Health Wales Showcase Event
Public Health Research, Policy and Practice:
Working Together in Wales
Save the Date
Thursday 2 March 2017
University of South Wales
(ATRiuM Building) Cardiff

Public Health Wales’ Policy, Research and
International Development Directorate are
hosting an event to showcase the latest public
health research in Wales. The day will draw
attention to collaborations across academic
sectors and other organisations, and Dr
Frank Atherton, Chief Medical Officer for
Wales, will be a guest speaker. There will
be a panel debate on the topic:
Meeting the challenge of collaborating in
public health research. How do we improve?
This event is FREE to attend
Details on how to register will follow
You are welcome to share this ‘Save the
Date’ flyer with colleagues
For more information please contact:
Public Health Wales R&D
02920 104452
PHW.research@wales.nhs.uk

Contact Us
Publichealth.network@wales.nhs.uk
Capital Quarter 2
Floor 5
Tyndall Street
Cardiff
CF10 4BZ
www.publichealthnetwork.cymru
If you have any news or events to contribute to the next
edition please submit them to
publichealth.network@wales.nhs.uk deadline for
submission is the 3rd Friday of every month.